„Ekki er þetta kirkjunni að neinu gagni“

Íslensk söngbókabrot úr kaþólskum sið

Abstract

Hundreds of fragments have survived from the Roman Catholic liturgical books that were used in Iceland until the Reformation in the mid-sixteenth century. These include fragments from music books, such as graduals and antiphoners. These fragments belong to many different collections, both in Iceland and abroad. The most substantial holdings are those of the National and University Library in Reykjavík, the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies in Reykjavík and the Arnamagnæan Collection in Copenhagen, but fragments from liturgical books with music are also found in the National Archives (Reykjavík), the Royal Libraries in Copenhagen and Stockholm, and libraries in Uppsala and Cambridge (MA); in addition, at least two fragments with music are still privately owned. The total number of music fragments from books that were written or used in Iceland can be estimated at around 320, and these seem to have belonged to at least 130–140 separate books.

This article gives an overview of the surviving fragments from Icelandic liturgical books with music, including several that have received little attention from scholars until now. The main focus is on the collections of the Royal Libraries in Copenhagen and Stockholm, where several fragments are still in situ as part of binding used for younger manuscripts. Several examples are given of fragments in different collections that were originally part of the same book, such as Add. 1 4to (Royal Library, Copenhagen) and Accessoria 7/Hs 15 (Arnamagnæan Collection, Copenhagen), which are leaves from the same original manuscript, containing music for masses at Christmas. Finally, a survey is given of the musical output of Jón Þorláksson, a productive Icelandic scribe in the second half of the fifteenth century, and the only Icelandic music scribe known by name.